Cherry and Ancient Grain Salad

- Use bulgur wheat instead of couscous a lot of the time because I adore its earthy, nutty flavour and texture.
- It’s also a great way to increase your fibre intake. Don’t be afraid of the slightly under-cooked butternut in this recipe – it’s really delicious. The Cherries are juicy and luscious
Ingredients
The Salad
- 1 cup cooked bulgur wheat
- 1 cup cooked white quinoa
- 1 cup cooked green lentils
- 2 cups halved pitted cherries
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup diced butternut
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 3 spring onions with tops, sliced
- 2 Tbsp sultanas
- 4 Tbsp pistachio or almonds, roughly chopped
- 1 medium red pepper diced
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
- 3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Dressing
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp honey
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Shake all the dressing ingredients together in a glass screw-top jar. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside until needed.
Method
- Now, back to the salad.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the butternut, red onion, garlic, cayenne pepper and honey.
- Fry gently for five minutes, stirring to coat the butternut.
- Remove from the heat and spoon into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the bulgur wheat, quinoa and lentils to the bowl.
- Stir in all the remaining salad ingredients.
- Shake and pour over the dressing, give it a good stir and pile onto a serving platter.